Zia Pueblo Historic Small Round Jar, c.1900 [SOLD]

This jar is typical of nineteenth century Zia Pueblo pottery, yet differs in some instances. It is rounded or globular in shape, smaller than normal water jars, and different in design.

Between the late 19th century and early 20th century, Zia potters repeated designs over and over. Harlow & Lanmon's exhaustive The Pottery of Zia Pueblo has a whole chapter devoted to the capped spiral design and example after example of spirals filled with trident designs. However, none of those spirals and tridents in the book look anything like the ones on this child size water jar — a size that may have had less to do with children than with what would fit in a tourist's suitcase. By 1900, tourist sales were important to Pueblo potters.

The polished red band on the underbody indicates that this was made no later than the first of the 20th century, and its age prompts us to give it an earlier date. Although this globular, almost neckless shape is unusual in Zia pottery, it is sprinkled through the pages of The Pottery of Zia Pueblo and shows up occasionally from the 18th century to the present.

Condition: very good condition

Provenance: this Zia Pueblo Historic Small Round Jar, c.1900 is from the collection of a family from South Carolina

Reference: Harlow, Francis H. and Dwight P. Lanmon, The Pottery of Zia Pueblo, School of American Research Press, Santa Fe, 2003

TAGS: Southwest Indian Pottery, Zia Pueblo, Historic Pottery